This invention relates generally to electrical fixtures and, more particularly, to an improved electrical fixture housing and method of installing an electrical fixture.
A typical electrical fixture, such as an electrical light fixture, normally includes a plate and a removable cover. The plate is normally fastened to a wall at an outlet box having hot and neutral leads. After the plate is fastened, typical installation normally includes coupling hot and neutral connector leads carried by the cover with the hot and neutral leads of the outlet box for facilitating the transfer of electrical power to, for instance, light bulbs carried by the cover. During this operation, a user must support the cover with one hand and struggle with the other hand to couple the hot and neutral leads from the outlet box with the hot and neutral connector leads of the cover. For large electrical fixtures, it is often necessary for one person to hold the cover while another electrically connects the cover with the outlet box.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide a new and improved electrical fixture, electrical housing and method of installing an electrical fixture.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved electrical fixture that is easy to construct.
It is another purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved electrical fixture that is inexpensive.
It is still another purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved electrical fixture that is easy to install with only one user.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved method of installing an electrical fixture that is easy and convenient.
It is still a further purpose of the present invention to provide a new and improved method of installing an electrical fixture that may be carried out with only one user.
The above problems and others are at least partially solved and the above purposes and others are realized in an electrical fixture generally of a type for mounting against a wall and for supporting one or more conventional light bulbs such that when energized with electrical energy will illuminate a desired space. In a specific embodiment, the electrical fixture of the present invention is comprised of a housing including a base, a cover carried by the base in a normal first position and engagable in electrical communication with an electrical power source, a receptacle carried by the base for receiving and supporting the cover away from the base in a second position, and engagement apparatus for detachably engaging the cover with the base in the normal first position of the cover. The receptacle comprises one of a slot and a plurality of slots.
Engagement apparatus comprises an engagement assembly carried by one of the base and the cover, and a detachably engagable complemental engagement assembly carried by the other one of the base and the cover. The engagement assembly comprises a plurality of pins mounted in spaced relation and for movement in reciprocal directions between first and normal second positions. The complemental engagement assembly comprises a plurality of apertures each for detachably receiving one of the plurality of pins in one of the first and normal second positions.